Embattled Brown clings to Downing Street tenure

Mr Brown flew back to London from his constituency in Scotland, indicating that he had not given hope of carrying on in government.

In a defiant email to Labour Party workers thanking them for their efforts in the campaign, Mr Brown said he was determined to fight on to secure his policies for economic recovery.

"My resolve has not, and will not, change. I pledged to do everything in my power to fight for the people of this country - to secure the recovery, to protect their livelihoods and to continue to fight for a future fair for all," he said.

Mr Brown entered No 10 with his wife, Sarah, and their two sons, just yards away from the Cabinet Office where the Tories and Liberal Democrats were holding their talks on forming a new government.

He was expected to hold talks with key colleagues, including the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.

However Graham Stringer - long-time critic of Mr Brown - became the third Labour MP since the election to publicly call for Mr Brown to stand down, warning that he was losing support in the party.

"I've probably spoken to about 15 Labour MPs since the election - some of them who have been very supportive of Gordon over the last three years, some of whom have been closer to my position - and not one of them thinks he should stay on," he said.

John Mann, who yesterday became the first Labour MP to call on Mr Brown to go, warned that he was now an obstacle to any possible agreement with the Liberal Democrats.

"In the real world, Nick Clegg would be crucified if he propped up Gordon Brown. Gordon Brown's unpopularity was a key factor in this election. That's the reality," he said.

Other Labour MPs said that the party should accept that it had lost the election and give up its attempts to hang on to power.

Former minister Malcolm Wicks said the party needed to be "grown up" and to "take it on the chin".

"Any prospect of a Labour government staying in power with support from the Liberals in a ragbag coalition depending on assorted nationalists is I think ridiculous," he said.

"We have lost. I think we need to accept the logic of this and we need to prepare ourselves for a dignified and principled opposition. It would look very, very shabby for us to be seen hanging on to the doorknob of Number 10."

Another former minister, George Howarth, said that "the maths" were against Labour being able to form an administration and that David Cameron should now be given his chance.

He said: "I think the proper thing to do, in the interests of the country and in the interests of the Labour Party, is for the Conservatives to form a government, for us to be the Opposition - and be in opposition in a constructive way and where anything the Conservative Party puts forward is in our view in the national interest, to support it."

Other senior figures gathering at No 10 were said to include Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who wrote the Labour manifesto, and Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former communications chief who has been advising Mr Brown during the election campaign.

Earlier, a former Labour minister called for Mr Brown to quit.

Vauxhall MP Kate Hoey - who served as sports minister under Tony Blair from 1999-2001 - said it would be impossible for Labour to achieve "renewal" until it had a new leader.

Her comments follow a call yesterday from Bassetlaw MP John Mann for Mr Brown to stand down as Labour leader and PM, because he was losing the party votes and standing in the way of a credible coalition deal with Liberal Democrats.

They will heighten speculation about how long Mr Brown can hang on in 10 Downing Street after an election in which Labour shed 91 MPs and lost its majority in the House of Commons.

Ms Hoey told BBC Radio Five Live's Stephen Nolan show: "I think he must go and I don't think we will have renewal until we get a new leader."

She acknowledged it would take a long time for a new leader to be chosen, and a contest might not be possible during the current period of constitutional uncertainty, but said it would be "helpful" if Mr Brown indicated his intention to quit.

"I think, deep down, most Labour Party members know that in a short time, one way or another, the Prime Minister won't be Gordon Brown and he won't be the leader of our party," she said.

Ms Hoey criticised the negative tone of Labour's election campaign.

And she said that many voters who backed the party because of its policies and values did so "reluctantly because of who our leader was and with a heavy heart and despite us having Gordon as leader".

She backed Mr Mann's call for the Parliamentary Labour Party to be convened to discuss the party's response to the emergency created by the inconclusive election result.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Mann said it was "extraordinary" that the PLP had not met since the election, adding: "Whatever happens in the next few days, Gordon Brown should not lead Labour into any future election and he should stand down before the next Labour Party Conference.

"Gordon Brown's continuation as the Party's leader rules out the credibility of a Lib/Lab pact that has to prioritise the modernisation and reform of the antiquated UK political systems, the continued stabilisation of the economy in partnership with the need to protect front line public sector jobs and services."

Mr Mann said that "literally thousands" of voters had told him during the election campaign that they would support him but it was not a vote for Mr Brown, while others said they would have voted for him if Labour had a different leader.

"On the doorstep, throughout the election campaign I found that there was a lot of support for Labour's approach on the economy, health and education, but there was little support for Gordon Brown to be Prime Minister," he said.

"Gordon Brown has had a good run and whilst he was an excellent Chancellor he has been seen as a poor Prime Minister who is out of touch and aloof. Labour lost votes because of this."

ALMOST two-thirds of voters think Gordon Brown should concede defeat in the General Election and clear the way for a new Prime Minister, according to a poll published today.

The YouGov survey for the Sunday Times found that 62% believe Mr Brown should have accepted defeat on Friday after it became clear that Labour was no longer the largest party in the House of Commons, against 28% who said he was right to hang on in case Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are unable to reach agreement on collaboration.

Some 48% of those questioned said the new government should be led by the Conservatives - either in a minority administration or at the head of a coalition - against 31% who preferred a Labour/Lib Dem alliance of some form.

The poll also showed strong support for a shift from first-past-the-post to a more proportional system of voting for Westminster elections.

Some 62% said they favoured a more proportional system, against just 13% who wanted to stick with the existing arrangements, which produced Thursday's inconclusive result.

In another survey, by OnePoll for The People newspaper, 59% wanted to ditch first-past-the-post and introduce PR, with 30% against.